Similar to the early internet, where access to porn dominated debates on the value, opportunities and ethnicity of the technology so Bitcoin represents a bit of a puzzle as the semi-sleazy figurehead for what is surely a much more promising innovation.

The article is helpful in that is traces the development of blockchain as an early innovation to the mass disruptor we see today. Critically though, they look forward towards the development of blockchain platforms whereby the ‘transactions’ involved can mean any information, data point or digital resource as well as currency.

Key questions raised, however, include the dilemma of cryptocurrency energy consumption, and whether there truly is value in blockchain as a digital ledger. For example, would an energy company find value in decentralized energy ledgers to monitor the performance of producing assets and tie together with service agreements with ISPs?

Will the benefit be mere points of points of percentiles in efficiency and does the issue of ‘trust’ between developers, owners, IPPs and utilities really hurt so much to the point where they require an uber transparent and decentralized ledger of transactions?

Either way, the article is useful as a guide to some of the early opportunities and challenges that will be faced developing truly valuable blockchain solutions in the energy sector.

Check it out here now.

Assorted news of the week

GEAR Blockchain Inc. announced a partnership with Routemaster (an investment company) in advance of their plans for an ICO. This one is interesting because GEAR is looking to focus on the development of cryptocurrency mining-powered predominantly by renewable energy generation and green hashing. 

Baystreet released a guide to their T5 transformative oil companies, three of which are using blockchain as a tool to secure greater efficiency and opportunities in their businesses.

The first, see’s Shell join a coalition with BP, Statoil and others to explore blockchain-based digital platforms to streamline energy commodity trading in a bid to remove excess paperwork and inefficiency in both large and small exchanges

Next up, Petroteq is hailed for its initiative to use blockchain to trace and track oil production in a bid to increase the visibility of transparency of production across their expanding portfolio

Finally, we see BP attempt to develop a blockchain solution that will help them similarly track the flow of data points and production of oil from upstream to downstream. Increasingly valuable as their supply chain involves so many different vendors and stakeholders in the journey from well to pump.